Combining elements of romanticism and botanical illustration, Thornton Pl. 31, The Sacred Egyptian Bean is an ode to the Linnean system of plant classification.
Engraved with aquatint and mezzotint on a 21 ⅝” × 17 ⅛” sheet of paper, this antique original botanical print is brought to life with hand-applied color. Add dynamism and intrigue to your collection with this magnificent 19th-century floral engraving!
About The Temple of Flora
The production of The Temple of Flora was orchestrated by Dr. Robert Thornton in concert with a number of talented artists and printmakers who executed the majority of the illustrations. Containing 33 plates that dramatically and poetically illustrated Linnaeus’ discoveries about the sexual system of plants, the folio was rendered using a number of printmaking methods including aquatint, mezzotint, stipple, and line engraving. Most plates were altered at various points, resulting in as many as four distinct states for some images. Despite its lack of financial return at the time of its production, Dr. Robert Thornton’s epic depictions of flowers are celebrated as one of the most significant artistic contributions to botanical art of that period.
About Dr. Robert Thornton
Dr. Robert Thornton was an English physician and botanical writer who devoted himself to the production of a folio illustrating the Linnean system of classification which categorized flowers according to their sexual characteristics (i.e. stamen and pistils). Thornton’s The Temple of Flora illustrates Linnean taxonomy through depictions of flowers against their native surrounding. While the production of the folio was costly, and Thornton did not receive the financial returns he had anticipated, The Temple of Flora is “one of the greatest prizes of collectors of fine flower-books” (Great Flower Books, 43).
To learn more about Thornton Pl. 31, The Sacred Egyptian Bean, email us at [email protected] or check out our articles The Historical Significance of Botanical Illustration, The Historical Allure of Variegated Tulips, and What is an Engraving? A Guide to Intaglio Printmaking Techniques
more information about botanical printsView All Articles
Audubon Prints Birds and Animal Art Botanical Art Information
Natural History Art Treasures under $10,000
Collecting original art doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, there are a surprising number of original paintings and antique prints that can be acquired [...]
Read More
Botanical Art
A Guide to Collecting Antique Botanical Prints
Loved for their beauty, whimsy, and relative affordability, botanical prints offer a wonderful avenue for novice and seasoned collectors alike. Whether displayed as solitary statement [...]
Read More
Birds and Animal Art Botanical Art Information
An Obsession with Natural History and Victorian Collecting Crazes
Spanning the majority of the 19th century, the Victorian era was marked by a rise in fashionable collecting hobbies. Natural history objects were among the [...]
Read More
Botanical Art Information
How to Distinguish Between the Various Editions of Besler’s ‘Garden of Eichstätt’
A practical guide to understanding and identifying the different editions of Besler’s folio through paper types and material characteristics.
Read More
Botanical Art
Plant Mutations in the Botanical Prints of Pierre-Joseph Redouté
A consideration of the artistic rendering of the Tulip Breaking Virus, and the phenomenon of Rose Perfoliation in Redouté's prints
Read More
Botanical Art
Encountering the Amazon through Margaret Mee’s Lens
A consideration of Mee's implicit and overt depictions of symbiotic ecosystems in her paintings of the Amazon Rainforest
Read More
